Pork and Sweet Potatoes in a Crock Pot

I belong to a cooking forum with a group of women who are really awesome cooks.  My friend Kathy had the brilliant idea of combining pork tenderloin, sweet potatoes, apples and onions in a crock pot.  So I had to try it.

When I made this, I didn't have the time it would take to cook a pork tenderloin, so I bought 3 thick cut, boneless pork chops, and I cut them into cubes.  I also bought a large sweet potato, a Grapple apple (my grocer sells these amazing apples that have some grape notes, however, you can use any kind of apple you like or have in your fruit basket at home), and a large Vidalia onion (use a yellow onion if Vidalias are not in stock).

After cutting the pork chops into cubes, I added kosher salt, freshly ground pepper and lots of (Indian) curry powder.  In a skillet over medium heat, I added a little (2-3 Tablespoons) olive oil, and browned the pork on all sides before chucking it into the crock pot.  Then I added the (thinly) sliced apples, sweet potatoes (sliced 1/2-in chick and then quartered) and chopped onion.  I happened to have some fresh thyme in my crisper so I pinched off the leaves of about 4 stalks into the pot.  Then I poured about half a box of chicken stock over the mixture, put the lid on and turned the crock pot on high.  Slow cooked for approximately 3 hours.

This was so yummy!  And this says a lot coming from me, because I normally have an aversion to combining fruit with savory dishes.  But the apples, after soaking in the salted, curried broth, mimicked the texture of a root vegetable, rather than an apple.  And the sweetness really balanced out the curry powder. 

I added another dash of curry powder right before serving.  I think a little dollop of plain Greek yogurt would be good with it, too. 

My dear husband thinks it would be good with a chopped pepper coulis.  But he likes his food really spicy.

I drank a glass of 14 Hands Hot to Trot with this.